


Whatever Will Be

by CulperJr



Category: Turn (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M, Season 3 Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-28
Updated: 2016-04-28
Packaged: 2018-06-04 23:48:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6680878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CulperJr/pseuds/CulperJr
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Anna wondered how quickly Edmund would pale hearing George Washington's name on her lips.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Whatever Will Be

**Author's Note:**

> This a very short, unrealistic one shot that takes place right after THE confession.

  Anna didn't even notice when Edmund staggered past her and up the stairs. The thought of what Mary had been doing, or the idea that she may not be finished doing it, didn't even cross her mind. She placed a hand over her corseted abdomen, trying to steady her breathing. Tears pooled in her eyes that she forced away by looking up at the plastered ceiling. Oh, how she hated to cry. She hated how vulnerable it made her feel. There was positively no reason for it.

  As she stood now in the shadows of the hallway, she felt her stomach sink at the thought of him. What must he think of her, running off like she'd done? She'd given him a weak "thank you" and fled, unable to formulate a proper response to his loving confession. Anna pressed her eyes shut, replaying everything he'd said over and over again in her head. She saw his eyes, she saw her own hand enclosed within his large, but delicate, fingers. Her heart rate had steadily increased throughout the course of his speech, because with every word he spoke, she'd realized and understood that she wanted to here them. She wanted him.

  He was right. Anna could never think of Edmund Hewlett's passions as anything but sincere, and because of that, tears were pricking at her eyes once again. Edmund was a love struck fool, blind to the reality of her; a rebel spy. If he only knew what she had done. For gods sake, _what she was doing_. For just a moment, though, she let his confession sink in. Let it wash over her like a refreshing breeze. Hearing Hewlett speak with such fluidity was new. He often expressed his feelings so poorly, stumbling over what she perceived to be some sort of inner monologue that he could not separate from open conversation. But in that moment, the darling man didn't stutter once.

  This was ridiculous. She's been through this before. In fact, she was still technically married. But, why had his words sounded so very foreign? Perhaps it was his respect for her. His devotion. Had Selah spoken of her happiness as a life goal? If he had, she certainly would've remembered. As for Abe, he surely had not, for obvious reasons.

  In examining her own heart, she knew she felt the same, though she had no right to. One singular mention of the man she served in secret would settle everything. Anna wondered how quickly Edmund would pale hearing George Washington's name on her lips. She was truly caught in the middle without even a glimmer of hope, it seemed. She should dismiss his confession right now, and save him from the truth he'd surely come to know sooner or later.

She _should_.

  She inhaled deeply, trying to calm her rapidly beating heart. Adjusting her skirts and hair, she quietly re-entered the room, fully expecting him to be waiting there. She almost choked when he was not. Her blood ran cold as she realized he'd gone upstairs.

 _Oh god_ , _Mary, s_ he thought. In the shock over Edmund's confession, she'd forgotten about her.

"Shite." She spat under her breath.

  She trotted up the stairs as quietly as she could manage, and paused at the top of them, listening. The second floor of Whitehall was silent. Anna let out a long breath that sent the stray curls that framed her face flying. All seemed to be well.

  Her eyes fell to the the Major's bedroom door. She could faintly hear him pacing about, and occasionally the shadows of his boots would slip through the little crack at the threshold. The poor man must think she had dismissed his feelings entirely. At that thought, her brow furrowed. There were so many things that could go wrong between them. _So many_. On an impulse, however, she approached the closed entrance. Her knuckles had almost made contact with the wood when the door swung open.

  His eyes were like saucers, and she was no less surprised. They spoke at the same time, stuttering some sort of apology that neither of them understood.

" _Anna_ ," Hewlett broke the silence, a hint of surprise lingered in his tone. "I, um— well, I was on my way to find you, actually. And here you are..." He gave her a nervous and weak smile. "I have to apologize for our conversation downstairs."

She said nothing.

"I feel I was rather forward, you see? It's just that when you spoke of leaving....well, anyway." He made a dismissive jesters. "I hope you will forgive me."

  He'd retract his confession out of respect? The regard he held for her was so new. She felt valued, and yes, she felt loved.

Anna studied his eyes. "No, Edmund, I won't."

  Any glint of hope he had displayed in his expression melted away. If a person's eyes could frown, Edmund Hewlett's would've done just that.

She stepped closer.

"I can't, because there's nothing to forgive." Her hand reached for his. "Absolutely nothing."

  This was not how things should be. She should walk away, but in this moment, whether he knew her secrets or not was irrelevant. He deserved the same respect he'd shown to her. She didn't know what would become of this, and when she found his eyes again, she realized that she didn't want to know. She loved him, and she couldn't stop.

 _Whatever will be, will be_ , she thought, with an imperceptible feeling of fear in the back of her mind.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Like I said, it's unrealistic. However, I've watched that scene like 300 times now and I needed to write something.


End file.
